Woody Harrelson Rumored To Play An Iconic Spider-Man Villain In Venom

One of Spider-Man's most iconic villains will soon take center stage when Tom Hardy steps into the role of Eddie Brock for Ruben Fleischer's Venom. That said, the black and white symbiote may not be the only classic Spider-Man foe to appear in the movie. In fact, new information has surfaced regarding Woody Harrelson's mysterious part in the villain-centric story, and it sounds like he may actually be playing Carnage.

What's the only thing better than one symbiote? Naturally, the answer is two symbiotes. A new report from Bleeding Cool suggests that Woody Harrelson's mysterious character in Venom will actually turn out to be Cletus Kasady a.k.a Carnage. The figure is a staple of the Spider-Man lore, receiving his own Venom-esque symbiote suit after coming into contact with Eddie Brock's symbiote in prison. Some rumors had previously suggested that Riz Ahmed might portray Carnage in the film, but this latest report seems to indicate it could be Harrelson to don the red and black.

Casting Woody Harrelson as Carnage would make plenty of sense. Like Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams (who are playing Eddie Brock and Anne Weying, respectively), Harrelson is an Oscar-nominated actor known for an eclectic array of roles. He has dabbled extensively in the realm of dark and villainous characters with his performances in films such as Natural Born Killers and Out of the Furnace, so one has to assume that he could naturally slide right into the insane serial killer persona required for the role of Carnage.

Bringing Carnage into the fold would also make plenty of sense from a narrative point of view. Most of the evidence seems to suggest that Venom is adapting the Lethal Protector and Planet of the Symbiotes storylines. Both of these narrative frame Venom as an anti-hero and Planet of the Symbiotes specifically includes Carnage as a prominent character.

As for Woody Harrelson, he has kept himself incredibly busy over the course of the last few years. In addition to his upcoming role in Venom, the actor is also about to join the Star Wars universe in Ron Howard's Solo: A Star Wars Story, and he also appeared in the Planet of the Apes franchise last year when Matt Reeves' War for the Planet of the Apes debuted. He's obviously no stranger to the world of franchise filmmaking, but if these rumors are true, this could mark one of his few forays into the world of established characters -- alongside his role as Haymitch in The Hunger Games and his role as Carson Wells in No Country for Old Men.

Venom is scheduled to debut in theaters later this year on October 5, 2018. Stay tuned for more updates related to the Spidey spinoff and check out our movie premiere guide for more information on all of the most prominent release dates for this year.